The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday fired what appeared to be artillery shots, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of the Republic of Korea (ROK) said.

The JCS said in a statement that it detected the trajectories, presumed to be the artillery shots fired from multiple rocket launchers, from about 6:21 p.m. to 6:37 p.m. local time.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the ROK military spotted the trajectories of two DPRK artillery shots.

The DPRK's artillery shots came after six U.S. F-35A stealth fighter jets arrived in the ROK on July 5 to conduct joint drills with ROK warplanes until July 14.

The ROK has purchased 40 of its own F-35As from the United States, and is looking to buy another 20. The ROK Air Force F-35As would be among the aircraft to participate in the joint drills, according to U.S. Forces Korea.

The DPRK has denounced the joint exercises and the ROK's weapons purchases as examples of "hostile policies" that prove the U.S. offers to negotiate without preconditions are hollow.

(With input from Xinhua, Reuters)

(Cover: This picture, taken on January 27, 2022 and released by the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency on January 28, shows what the DPRK says is a surface-to-surface tactical guided missile test-fire conducted by the Academy of Defense Science of the DPRK at an undisclosed location. /CFP)